Real Time Bill Maher: George Carlin on Fascism, 2005

So much has happened when this was taped. That being said, how different is The Obama Administration versus The Bush (Shrub) Administation?

I found Mr Obama's view that marijuana should not become a national cash crop (duh, isn't it already?) and his desire for war in Afghanistan very Bush-McCain-y.

Was his election approved by the Upper class? Isn't it odd that a Populist President seems to be emphasizing and propping up the same old Corporate interests instead of directly addressing the need of the People?

It reminds me of old Rome. The anger of the People, unfortunately, was like a bull in a china shop.

I think that the Afghanistan situation is merely a mess left for Obama to clean up. It's very different from constructing a war from mid-air on the basis of old family rivalries and passing "democracy and peace" on to another country based on only our judgment. None of the problems left by Bush will be fixed in 3 months let alone a year or even more, so all the people who put their faith into an idiot being elected on the basis of issues with extreme religious biases should have no issue having the patience and faith in Obama to do his best. He's not God, but at least he isn't professing to be.

1. Pot's legality is hardly sign that one has risen/fallen to the level of Bush/McCain style conservatism. You need a man-sized safe and several hundred executive signing orders before you can qualify, as well as secret prisons and rendition flights.

2. Like it or not, Afghanistan is a problem that Obama has inherited. Thus far, he's stuck to his guns and his word as to how he would deal with the military and political situation there. I think that this sort of project is one that can only be crippled by partisanship, rather than enhanced by it. Bush was basically distracted by Iraq, but even if he hadn't been, once you've invaded a country, you should be prepared to do the rebuilding part, and do it well. We're in Afghanistan for the forseeable future, and committing more troops is something that could only help. What would help even more is better political reform and diplomacy with and within Pakistan.

3. He's been in office for about 60 days. You can only use the bully pulpit so much, and he's already done that to several corporate exec's dismay. The real impetuous for reform on a corporate front would come from lobbying reform and Capitol Hill, as well as new laws and policies governing the Executive's revolving doors in the Cabinet offices.

4. Finally, I think that he's one been a great deal more honest than President Bush ever was. He's admitted that it's certainly going to take more than a few years to fix the problems we face today.

I think Obama is genuinely trying to do what is best for the country as a whole. In the Making Homes Affordable Program, he and Geithner have put forward a solid plan to prevent as many people as possible from foreclosing on their homes. The Stimulus was hardly a gift to the upper class.

Basically, you're relying on maybe three to five initiatives to make your argument. And the huge bailouts of Citigroup and AIG should not be viewed as a "gift" to the upper class for several reasons.

1. The government plans to get most of that money back - some of it at a profit.

2. Our credit markets and our entire financial system is on thin ice right now. If we had allowed a firm as large as AIG or Citi to go bankrupt, the effects on the economy as a whole would have been disastrous.

3. As a service economy, we rely on the confidence of consumers and investors. The collapse of small firms like Bear and Lehman wrecked havoc on consumer and investor confidence for months - which we are only now starting to recover from. So even if it seems like these huge government bailouts are not helping everyday Americans, in a way, they are by preventing a large-scale panic (like the bank runs in 1929) which will not be conducive to our economy recovering,.